Wolf Warrior and Detrimental Dragon
by Sokkasm
Summary: A story I wrote in which Iroh and Toph chat a bit longer, not making it in time to defeat Azula during The Chase. Sokka and Zuko are consequently forced to work together, despite their history of being enemies. Adoptable!
1. The Chase

Chapter One

Sokka woke up with a jolt. A small flickering candle on the other side of the barred iron door was the only thing that broke the darkness. He put his hand to his throbbing head, and to his surprise, his warrior's wolf tail was gone. The buzzed hair on the sides of his head had grown longer than he would have liked. The most unsettling thing was his water tribe clothes had been replaced with a tattered red garb.

He jumped off of the firm bed and looked through the bars of the door. There was only one other cell in the tiny room. That must be where Katara and Aang are, he thought. Except, where exactly is 'here'? Sokka confirmed his suspicion by glancing at the wall. Hanging ominously was a large tapestry with the fire nation insignia.

The wavering light of the candle became brighter, and Sokka realized it was coming from the inside of the other cell, not on the table in the hallway.

"Aang?" he skeptically asked. The light vanished and there was no response. Sokka plopped down on the mattress and concentrated. He couldn't remember what happened; his stomach growls did not help the situation. Thankfully, someone came in the room and gave Sokka and the other prisoner a small bowl of plain brown rice.

The hunger pains subsided, and Sokka was finally able to recollect his momentarily suppressed memories. He remembered being chased by a mysterious machine that refused to let him get a good night's rest. Toph had stormed off into the wilderness. Katara and he had separated from Aang and confronted the girls from Omashu. Yes, it was all coming back to him.

Appa was tired, but he saved Katara and Sokka, then flew them to Aang. When they landed, Aang was fighting the freaky blue-firebending girl. Katara rushed over to help Aang, but Sokka was still a bit wobbly from being chi blocked. Sokka managed to get a glimpse of the back of a stranger wearing green. Seeing the Earth Kingdom teenager made Sokka wish Toph were here. She would definitely be crucial in defeating the firebender. But hey, maybe this kid was a good fighter.

Or, maybe not. The teen was stumbling like he had been on the loosing side of the fight since the beginning. Katara, Aang, and the stranger slowly began to corner the firebender. Sokka ran with much difficulty to help the three. The girl was trapped, she held her hands up in defeat; however, the mischievous smile on her face was not convincing. Sokka looked to his left and saw the stranger was staring at Aang. The girl sent a quick stream of blue fire at the teen, which hit him on the shoulder. As the boy fell, Sokka watched in horror as the two girls who attacked Katara and him quickly approached.

The chi blocker went for the nearest person, Sokka. He didn't have any reaction time to attack and he fell to the ground. Katara and Aang ran to Appa, and tried to make him charge. Appa started to run, but the fire bender sent a blast of fire at the bison, causing him to take off and fly in the opposite direction.

"Appa, no! Sokka!" Sokka listened as Katara and Aang's shouts lessened. The firebender walked over to the boy in the green and spoke with anger, "Make sure the prisoners are restrained, then knock them out." Sokka watched helplessly as his own club was used against him. Then there was darkness.


	2. The Enemy

Chapter Two

Sokka was glad he had his memories back, but now he was bored and hungry. The large door leading to the cell room creaked open. Sokka's stomach churned in anticipation as the opening door meant a bowl of rice was coming. To his dismay, the cook was not the one to enter the door. Instead, it was the pink-wearing perky girl and the glum emotionless girl. The perky one chi blocked the prisoner in the other cell, and chained him. The gloomy one put Sokka in chains as well, and the two prisoners were led outside. Sokka tried to look behind him to see the other prisoner, but miss I-hate-the world was in the way.

They were led outside into the blinding light. The machine they were in was the very same machine that followed Appa. It looked run down and beaten from too much travel. Sokka and the other prisoner were tied belly-down to an ostrich-horse. Everyone else mounted their freaky lizard creatures and surrounded the prisoners.

Sokka turned his head and saw a fading burn mark on the prisoner's shoulder. The prisoner was not looking at Sokka, and he said nothing. Sokka knew it was going to be a long and bumpy ride.

The sun was setting when they finally stopped. The three girls waited for their servants to finish setting up the tent, and went to sleep right away when it was set. Sokka and the other prisoner were untied from the back of the beast and set down. Sokka did not fall asleep. He waited a couple of hours until he knew everyone was in a deep sleep. He didn't know where he was being taken, but he knew why. It was a trap for Aang, and Sokka knew he couldn't let the fire nation get their nasty clutches on the kid.

Sokka crawled slowly to the guard who had the keys. He carefully removed the key from the soldier's pocket, flinching every time the man breathed. He then crawled back to the ostrich-horse and unlocked the chains. His retrieved bag was ready to go, and Sokka almost mounted the animal. He glanced over to the other prisoner. An enemy of the Fire Nation had to be a friend to him. Sokka went back and carried the boy, and grabbed what Sokka presumed was his bag of belongings. The boy was not heavy at all, which Sokka was grateful for. He quickly unbound the chains, and draped the sleeping boy on the ostrich-horse's back.

They rode quietly, and more importantly, fast. The sun was peeking through the trees, the stranger breathed heavily while the sun rose. Sokka spotted a cave and figured it would be a safe spot to rest. He set the boy down, and tried to start a fire. It took him four tries until the fire remained lit. Sokka shook the boy to wake him up, but to no avail. Sokka sighed, and closed his eyes.

A few hours later, Sokka woke up and put more wood in the fire. The only noises were from chirping birds and the crackling of the fire. It was peaceful.

"Uncle?" a very familiar voice asked. Sokka looked and confirmed his fear. Looking back at him was a fear stricken Zuko. Sokka quickly reached into his bag and threw his boomerang at the threat. Zuko, remembering his last incident with the boomerang, ducked and avoided the weapon.

"What was that for!" he yelled. Sokka menacingly held his weapon.

"Stay back." his voice cracked. Sokka ungracefully darted to the ostrich-horse, and tried to ride it away. The stupid birdbrain panicked and bucked Sokka off. Sokka tried to yell, but a hand was put to his mouth. Sokka held in the yell, and grabbed his newly sprained ankle.

"Quiet. We don't want Azula finding us." Sokka swatted Zuko's hand away. This had to be an elaborate plan to capture Aang. Sokka tried to stand up to attack Zuko, but he fell back to the ground.

"You're hurt." was Zuko's response,

"Quite the observer, aren't you." Sokka rolled his eyes and held his ankle. Zuko untied the cloth band from around his waist and bent down to wrap the injured foot. Sokka quickly backed away.

"What are you doing?"

Zuko was clearly agitated, "I am trying to help you!"

"Why?" Sokka sounded just as angry as Zuko did. Zuko froze and looked confused. He thought about it, and managed to save face, "Because my crazy sister is looking for us, we have a better chance if we stick together. We can look for my uncle and your friends." Sokka carefully studied the words given to him.

"What, so you can capture Aang?"

"Fine!" Zuko shouted, "Good luck finding food and dodging fire nation soldiers with your bad ankle." Zuko grabbed his bag and jumped onto the ostrich-horse with no problem and left. Sokka half expected Zuko to attack him while he was still down., but that didn't happen. Sokka was alone. His sister and friends had no idea where he was. To make it worse, the only person that did know where he was happened to be his sworn enemy.


	3. Sleep

Chapter Three

It had only been an hour since Zuko stormed off. Sokka wasn't worried about that now, he was more worried about his poor stomach that had been whining at him all day. He wrapped his foot with the band Zuko left behind, and tried to stand on it. Pain burst through his leg when he applied pressure, so he sat back down.

The fire was dying and Sokka was out of wood. He slumped backward and wondered what he was going to do. His thoughts were interrupted by a noise outside the cave. Sokka threw his boomerang as soon as a figure of a person appeared. It hit its mark, but the person ignored it and attacked.

Sokka jumped and charged with his club. After two strides, he fell to his face. The attacker sent a fireball near Sokka's face, who fell backward. There was a fist inches away from Sokka's face. He was a goner. The attacker withdrew and spoke, "That's why we need to stick together." Sokka sighed with a breath of relief. It was only Zuko.

This wasn't right. Sokka shouldn't have been relieved, he should have been terrified. Zuko was the enemy. He attacked Sokka's village, burned Kioshi Island, followed them around the world, and captured Aang in the North Pole. This guy was evil.

Zuko grabbed a bundle of wood off of the ostrich-horse's back and quickly started a fire with the flick of a hand. Zuko sat on the opposite side of Sokka, and stared into the fire. He reached into his bag, at which point, Sokka tensed and kept his hand on his club. Instead of some nasty trick, Zuko pulled out two papayas and threw one to Sokka. The fruit was quickly devoured by the ravenous water tribe boy. Too bad it wasn't meat.

The two boys awkwardly stared at each other through the warm fire. Without saying anything, they both laid down, and tried to fall asleep. Sokka watched as the firebrat (ooh, he was going to have to remember that one) fidgeted around in his sleep. Eventually, Zuko became still and breathed heavily, with the occasional snore emitting from him. Sokka released a snort; Zuko was probably pretending to be asleep. Of course, nothing happened. Zuko didn't leap up and attack. He simply to continued to sleep peacefully. At least, for awhile.

Later in the night, Zuko's breathing quickened, and he began to sweat. Sokka figured this was normal behavior for the firebrat. Zuko started mumbling, so Sokka paid more attention to the sleeping fiend. Sleep was starting to take over Sokka's mind; his vision hazed, but he knew he couldn't trust Zuko, and forced himself to stay awake.

"Mom!" Zuko yelled and sat in a sweat. Sokka was startled by the outburst and glared at Zuko while the yell echoed throughout the cave. Zuko must have noticed the bags under Sokka's eyes.

"Sokka," he said calmly, "go to sleep." Zuko fell back asleep, and Sokka loosened up. How did Zuko know his name? Probably from Katara or Aang yelling his name whenever Zuko had attacked them. It didn't matter now. Sokka heeded Zuko's words and fell asleep.


	4. Unintentional Bonding

Chapter Four

Zuko was standing next to the fire when Sokka woke up. Zuko turned his head and saw Sokka had finally woken up.

"Good, you're up. We need to hurry to make up lost time." Zuko let the fire die and threw their bags on the back of the ostrich-horse. Sokka stood up and noticed his ankle felt much better, and walked toward Zuko, who was already out of the cave.

"Sokka, don't walk on your foot." For some reason, it still bothered Sokka that Zuko knew his name and used it freely, like they were friends or something.

"I'm fine, it's not like I broke my leg." Zuko got onto the ostrich-horse and patted its back.

"Get on." Sokka remembered the last time he tried to ride the beast, and shook his head.

"No, I'd rather not."

"You're going to walk all the way to Ba Sing Se?"

"Who said anything about going there?"

"I know that's where my uncle would go."

Sokka slightly raised his voice, "What about my sister and friends?"

Zuko's eyes widened. "How am I supposed to know?"

"Well," said Sokka matter-of-factly, "you did track and follow us around the world."

Zuko held the bridge of his nose. "I haven't tracked you in awhile. I don't know if you'd forgotten, but we were in prison for the past week. Where do you think they would go?"

Sokka thought about it and sighed, "Okay, we just happened to be headed to Ba Sing Se."

"See. Now get on."

"No."

Zuko yelled, "You are impossible!" Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the woods. The two boys looked in that direction and saw a large dust cloud rise over the trees. It sounded like a large herd of animals were stampeding toward them. Fear struck both boys. Sokka looked at Zuko with wide eyes, then closed them, and gave in. He raised his arm and was pulled up onto the ostrich-horse. Great, now he was going to have to scrub that arm.

Zuko and Sokka kept looking behind them. Someone was still following them at a steady pace.

"Maybe we should stop and see who's following us." As soon as Zuko said that, Sokka remembered when Aang had said something similar about Azula following them.

"That's not a good idea."

"We can't run forever." Zuko patted the ostrich-horse's neck. "He's getting tired."

"Where did you get him from anyway?"

"He was a, uh, gift." Zuko's stutter did not go unnoticed.

"Sure, you sound real convincing."

They traveled and silence, and stopped only when the pathway split into two. One path led into the forest, and the other ascended onto the side of a cliff.

"Now what?" Sokka asked.

"We should take the mountain path, it seems it leads us to Ba Sing Se. The forest one looks like it leads in the opposite direction we need to go." Zuko turned to face Sokka and raised his eyebrow.

"What?"

"Well?" Zuko was asking for Sokka's opinion. He hadn't expected Mr. Hothead to take anyone's opinion.

"I agree, but what if we get trapped?"

"Don't worry. Whoever is following us is still behind us. They won't be able to catch up and go around the other way." Sokka nodded in agreement, and the two continued on the mountainside path.

Sokka's stomach had been churning and growling for the past few hours. The hot midday sun added to his misery.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm used to it."

"Do you have any more papayas?"

"No."

"Any food at all?"

"No."

"So, to clarify, you only grabbed two papayas when you stormed off."

"Yep."

"Well, let's stop at a village, and buy food."

"Do you have money?" Sokka was a little surprised with Zuko's question.

"You don't have money, at all? Aren't you supposed to be rich or something?"

"No."

"Great." Sokka moaned and looked behind him. He could no longer see the dust cloud, and he noticed the ostrich-horse's pace was becoming slow.

"As soon as the path reaches the forest floor, we should stop and rest." Zuko nodded, but said nothing. The heat and lack of food was getting to them both. Fortunately, the path descended, and before they knew it, they were back on the forest floor. They let the ostrich-horse graze and rest. Sokka and Zuko leaned against a large tree and rested for a good half hour. Sokka's stomach was still growling, and he could see Zuko grabbing his own stomach.

Sokka concentrated on the forest. The sound of stampeding feet was nonexistent. Various birds were tweeting, and the cicada-crickets chirped loudly. The sound of running water was very faint.

"Zuko!" The once sleeping Zuko jumped up into a defensive position.

"What!"

"Let's get some food." Zuko relaxed, stretched his arms, and sent and angry glare at Sokka for startling him.

"Where?"

"There's a creek nearby." Zuko grabbed the ostrich-horse's reigns and followed Sokka deeper into the woods. They walked only a hundred feet when they found the creek. It was about ten feet wide, and not very deep. Sokka knew he didn't have any fishing line in his bag.

"We're going to need spears." Zuko went to the nearest low branched tree and broke off two branches. He handed Sokka a branch, pulled out a dagger from his bag, and began to taper the end of his branch. Sokka grabbed his machete and sharpened the end of the stick. Once they were both done, they walked to the water's edge.

"You do know how to fish, right?" Sokka asked.

"Of course I do."

"Okay, no need to be so defensive." The boys rolled up their pants, took off their shoes, Sokka unwrapped the cloth from his foot, and they walked into the creek. Zuko immediately stabbed the water at random. Sokka put his hand to his forehead and calmly breathed. He waited, which eventually paid off. A large fish was swimming his way. He readied his strike, but got screwed up when Zuko yelled.

"Ha!" Zuko had managed to spear a tiny bait fish. Sokka's target swam in the opposite direction. Sokka looked at Zuko's pathetic catch.

"That is the tiniest minnow-chub I have ever seen."

"I haven't seen you catch anything yet."

Sokka was flustered, "That's because you keep on splashing the water and scaring the fish away."

"Calm down." That was such an ironic thing for Zuko to say.

"I am calm!" Zuko hung his head low and slumped his shoulders.

"Sorry, Sokka." Sokka felt bad for making the firejerk (yet another brilliant one Sokka was going to have to remember) feel sad. He didn't think it was possible to have empathy for anyone from the Fire Nation. He exhaled and faced Zuko.

"No, I'm sorry. I have been fishing all my life, and shouldn't have expected you to know how." Oops. That went better in his head.

"What are you insinuating? That I'm useless?" Zuko's eyes narrowed.

"No, that's not what I meant at all. I was raised to provide for and protect my family. You were raised to, you know, do Fire Nation leading thingies."

"Fair enough." Zuko relaxed, and looked at his fish. "But you're right…I am a terrible fisherman."

"I have an idea. Hold the fish steady in the water." Zuko held the fish in the water and watched as larger fish attracted to the smell came closer. Sokka waited for the perfect moment, and speared a decent sized fish. He repeated the motion, and speared another nice fish.

"My job is done, now it's your turn." Sokka handed Zuko the two fish. Zuko started a fire and cooked the fish. Sokka was looking for plants to make tea into; he found a plant that had a white flower with pink in the middle.

"Do you think this will make good tea?" Zuko glanced over his shoulder and saw the white and pink flower. He sent a small stream of fire at the plant, which quickly incinerated.

"A simple 'no' would have been sufficient."

"I'm not taking any chances." Why did the jerk have to be so mysterious about everything; it bugged Sokka. "Dinner is done." Sokka materialized next to the fire and stuffed the fish in his face. He stopped so he didn't appear to be rude, but Zuko as well, was eating ravenously. Sokka and Zuko finished their meal in a timely manner and fell asleep next to the fire with no worries. They had lost whoever was chasing them…for now.


	5. Hair is Important

Chapter Five

Zuko woke up as soon as the sun rose and peeked through the trees. Sokka was still fast asleep, and drooling. Zuko left the slumbering boy a note that explained he was going to look for food. Instead of taking the ostrich-horse, he walked with his bag slumped on his back.

It wasn't a heavy bag; his broadswords, a portrait of his mother, and his blue spirit mask were the only contents. Zuko was lucky Azula didn't look inside the bag and question him, unless she already knew.

He was headed in the direction of a small wisp of smoke that rose above the trees. Eventually, he found a path and continued to walk. The path led to a small guarded village, and Zuko hid behind a tree to observe it. The main road was bustling with merchants and traders (and of course, ever watchful citizens and guards). Zuko knew he wouldn't be able to sneak any food out of there so he turned around.

Unfortunately, he turned around and bumped into a large Earth Kingdom soldier, and fell down.

"Spying, are we?" The soldier's voice matched his large stature perfectly. Zuko looked down and realized he was still wearing his red prisoner's clothes. He knew if he was able to bend, he could easily defeat the man, but he didn't want to make the situation worse.

Instead, he quickly pulled out his swords and swiped the flat side of them as hard as he could at the back of the man's knees. The man fell to the ground with a loud thud. Zuko looked behind him and saw a group of guards running toward him. He jumped up and ran swiftly into the woods. He found the creek and ran alongside it.

Sokka's worried face was watching Zuko as he quickly approached.

"Sokka! We need to go! Now!" Sokka jumped onto the ostrich-horse and forced it into a gallop as soon as Zuko was on.

"What is going on?"

"I'll tell you later, just keep going!"

The two boys rode for miles, and they had no idea where they were going. There was no path, or any other sign of civilization in sight. There was nothing but budding trees for miles.

"What was all of that about, Zuko?"

"We need to stop and change our clothes." Sokka looked down and realized he was still in his Fire Nation prisoner clothes.

"Good call." Sokka stopped the ostrich-horse and jumped off. He reached into his bag and grabbed his Water Tribe clothes. Zuko was already switching his clothes.

"I'm just going to change over there."

"Hurry up!" There was slight panic in Zuko's voice. Sokka changed quickly and went back to Zuko. He was already on the ostrich-horse, ready to go.

"Come on!" Sokka jumped onto the animal and watched Zuko as he flinched at every little noise that came from the forest.

"You need to stop acting so worried. There is nobody around for miles."

"You don't know that! Somebody was following us yesterday."

"We lost them."

"That's just what they want us to think."

"Zuko, you need to stop acting so paranoid. We are safe."

Zuko glanced at Sokka with his scarred eye, and spoke darkly, "We'll never be safe."

"You need to lighten up." Zuko said nothing, and acted like Sokka wasn't there. "Fine, ignore me, if that's what makes you feel better about yourself." Zuko continued to do nothing. "Oh look!" Sokka pointed his finger toward the woods; Zuko looked into the direction Sokka was pointing. "It's your honor!" Zuko angrily glared at Sokka.

"That's not funny!" Sokka chuckled to himself once Zuko went back to concentrating on steering.

It was another mile or so when they found a used path. They silently followed it until they reached a Fire Nation pavilion. It was covered with posters.

"Ooh," Sokka beamed, "wanted posters!" They got off of the ostrich-horse and walked over to the stand. Sokka grabbed the Blue Spirit poster, and didn't notice Zuko tense up. "How pathetic, the Fire Nation can't even capture a masked thief." Zuko shifted uncomfortably, and Sokka noticed.

"Okay, not everyone in the Fire Nation is pathetic. Hey, here's a poster of you!" It was an image of Zuko when he still had that stupid ponytail. "These haven't been updated for some time. You don't have that anymore." Sokka pointed to the ponytail.

"Good. People will be looking for me with that topknot." Sokka couldn't help but think his scar, not his hair, was a dead giveaway.

"Yeah, they'll be looking for a weird dude with a ponytail." Sokka said this to reassure himself and Zuko, but it didn't work as planned.

"What are you saying?"

"Your ponytail made you look funny."

Zuko snorted. "Says the one..."

"Hey, that's called a warrior's wolf tail. I'm not even wearing it now!"

"Yeah, you look pretty ridiculous, Poofy."

"What! If anything, you look ridiculous!" Sokka jabbed his finger into Zuko's chest.

"Me?" Zuko stuttered, "Well, you smell funny."

"What a great comeback, but what else should I have expected from a manure-brained firebrat?" Zuko charged and tackled Sokka to the ground. They rolled and continued to throw around insults that an eight year old could have come up with.

"Boys!" The two continued to fight. "Enough!" They were separated by a large earthbender.

"Who are you?" asked Sokka.

"I came from a nearby village. We heard a ruckus, so I went to see what was wrong. You both better come with me." The man walked in-between Sokka and Zuko until they reached a small jail-like building. They were put into separate rock cells that were separated by a wooden grate. According to the earthbender, they needed to spend time calming down. The boys didn't move or say anything for a while. The benches they were sitting on were right next to each other, separated only by the dry wood, which Zuko could've easily burned down.

"Zuko?"

"Hmm?"

"We just got into an argument about our _hair_."

"Yep."

"I don't feel manly."

"Good."

Sokka lowered his head, "What do you think they are going to do with us?"

"Nothing. We haven't done anything wrong. If you hadn't discussed our aesthetic differences, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"So you're saying this is my fault."

"Yeah."

"If anything, this is your fault."

"My fault!?"

"If you hadn't chased us around the world, we wouldn't be here. You should've stopped your little expedition, and went home."

"I have been away from home for three years! Do you think I asked for this?" Zuko's hands erupted in flame with every said statement. "To be scarred for life? To be a fugitive? The only way I can go back home is if I capture the avatar!"

"Zuko, I…" Zuko turned around and stomped to the far corner. He kept blasting fire balls at the wall.

"Stop it. The earthbenders will come back any minute and see you." Zuko responded by sending fire his way, which stopped short. "Alright, wear yourself out." That was exactly what Zuko did.

Zuko was sweating, and he finally passed out from exhaustion. Sokka didn't mean to make Zuko angry and upset. He had accidentally struck a chord with the firebrat, which made Sokka wonder about the teen's past. Something terrible had happened, and he wanted to know what it was.


	6. The Real Enemy

Chapter Six

The earthbender opened the door and looked at Sokka.

"Now that you two have had time to calm down and talk, you are free to leave." He looked at Zuko, who was slumped in the corner. "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Sokka walked over to Zuko and slung him on his shoulders. "He just has a fever. Where's our ostrich-horse?" The man motioned Sokka to follow, and they walked to a stable. He handed Sokka the ostrich-horse's reigns, and helped him put Zuko on its back.

"Thank you." Sokka mounted the animal and followed the path into the woods. He stumbled upon an opening, and decided to set up camp for the night. Sokka set the sweating Zuko on the ground next to the fire that Sokka had struggled to start.

Sokka knew Zuko was extremely vulnerable at this point. He could've easily left the sick boy behind, without any worries of being followed. Sokka banished the thought from his mind; Zuko wasn't the villain here, but if Sokka left, he would've become the bad one.

Zuko helped Sokka when he twisted his ankle. Sokka felt terrible for even thinking of leaving Zuko in the woods to fend for himself. He watched as Zuko continued to sweat and shiver.

"Zuko, what's wrong with you?" Zuko's eyes opened slightly. He sat up and looked at the concerned Sokka.

"It's nothing. Let's keep going." Zuko stood up, and stumbled over to the ostrich-horse. Sokka walked to Zuko, and put his hand on the firebender's shoulder.

"No, you need to rest. You're not well." Sokka led Zuko back to the fire and made him lay down. Sokka boiled water in a teapot that was near Zuko's things. He threw in some herbs and dried fish chunks that he and Zuko made. The campsite smelled amazing, which made Sokka's mouth water, but he knew Zuko needed the soup more.

"I'm no healer, but I think soup should help." Zuko took the cup of soup that Sokka offered, and poured it into his mouth. Sokka noticed Zuko cringed when the liquid went down his throat.

"It's bad, isn't it?"

"No, no, it's fine. I'm not used to Water Tribe food. It's, uh, different." Zuko gave Sokka a faint smile, finished eating, and fell asleep for the night. Sokka followed Zuko's example and went to sleep with tasty soup in his belly.

When Sokka woke up, Zuko was by the fire, no longer sweating. He was stirring something in the teapot, and glanced over at Sokka.

"It's not soup, just tea."

"You're feeling better? That's great!"

"Yeah, your soup helped. Here, have a cup." Zuko offered a cup of his tea to Sokka with a slight nervous look on his face. Sokka took a sip, which made his whole body shudder. The tea was disgusting, and tasted like it had some of the fish soup in it.

"It was my first time making tea. How is it?"

"Good…just keep practicing." Sokka said this because he didn't want Zuko to be angry, but more importantly, he didn't want to hurt his feelings. When Zuko was distracted, Sokka silently dumped the contents of his cup behind him.

Sokka at first wondered what Zuko was looking at, but then he heard it. There was a faint thudding noise coming from the thick forest. The two boys looked at each other with fright.

"Whoever was chasing us is back." Zuko spoke calmly.

"Do you think it is your sister?" Sokka shook at the thought of fighting those crazy girls again.

"No. There are many men on ostrich-horse back that are chasing us."

"Did you know that before?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm not their enemy. Why would they be chasing us?"

"But I am an enemy…to everyone." Zuko's head drooped slightly.

"Not everyone, there's your uncle." Sokka paused, and added, "Me." Zuko glanced at Sokka, grateful for his comment, but he soon looked into the direction of the noise. The soldiers were getting louder.

"We need to go. I may be with you, but I am still their enemy." Sokka nodded in agreement. They packed up quickly and galloped deeper into the woods.

Sokka observed his surroundings. They were no longer on a path, and the trees were getting smaller and spaced out.

"Zuko, we have no idea where we are, or where we are going."

"It doesn't matter now, as long as we don't get captured." A wall of rock abruptly shot up in front of them, causing the ostrich-horse to rear and throw off the boys. The wall grew larger, and formed into a circle. They were trapped with at least forty Earth Kingdom soldiers, who were only twenty feet away from them. A large earthbender took a step forward and spoke with a gruff voice.

"Stay where you are!" Zuko stood and helped Sokka get up.

"We've done nothing wrong. Let us pass!" Zuko reached for his bag, and rested his hands on his swords.

"Ha!" The soldier turned to his comrades. "He thinks he's done nothing wrong!" All of the soldiers began to laugh, but stopped when the leader held up his hand.

"Who are you?" Zuko demanded.

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is who you are, Prince Zuko." Sokka looked at Zuko with panic. Zuko's blank expression didn't change.

"That's insane! My name is Lee. We are simple Earth Kingdom refugees headed for Ba Sing Se." The soldier had a grim smile, and pointed to his left.

"Ba Sing Se is that way. You're headed for the desert."

"We got a little lost. You see, we were chased by the Fire Nation. Please, let us go." Sokka spoke calmly.

"You poor fool…this scum" The soldier spat with disgust as he spoke, "has tricked you. He is the banished prince of the Fire Nation, and we are here to bring him to justice." Yeah, thought Sokka, and to collect a large monetary prize. He spoke again for Zuko.

"You have no proof."

"The prince was last seen in a village fighting soldiers, where he proclaimed he was the son of Ozai and Ursa, the crowned prince of the Fire Nation." Zuko did a quick face palm, and put his hand back onto his sword handle. "Now we have found him. Stand down!" The soldiers advanced and prepared to arrest the boys. Zuko pulled out his dual swords, while Sokka grabbed his boomerang. He threw the boomerang and hit the leader on the back of the head.

The earthbender fumed, "Arrest them!" The soldiers started to advance, so Sokka readied his club to help Zuko. Sokka looked over to Zuko and saw he looked perfectly calm. How could he be calm at a time like this?

Sokka looked at the soldiers and the armored ostrich-horses they rode on. There had to be a way to scare the beasts away. After little thought, Sokka raised his club and ran while emitting a loud war cry. Some of the ostrich-horses spooked and ran away, but the soldiers jumped off and got back into line.

Sokka retreated and stood next to Zuko defensively.

"You don't have to do this. You can save yourself."

"No, I'm fighting _with_ you."

"It's two against forty."

"I know."

Zuko looked at Sokka with gratitude, and gave him a faint smile, then spoke softly, "Thank you."

A soldier rushed out of the line and attacked. Zuko slashed the spear in half, and repeated every time a soldier approached him. Sokka knocked soldiers off the ostrich-horses, which caused panic and confusion. Zuko was slowly becoming surrounded, so Sokka went to his rescue.

He knocked more soldiers off, and threw his boomerang at random targets. Zuko had not once summoned fire, which Sokka was impressed with.

The soldiers were currently losing the fight, and if Sokka and Zuko continued to fight with ferocity, they might be able to escape. The soldiers, however, regrouped and continued to attack, and both boys were growing tired. Only a miracle would be able to get them out of this mess.

"Enough!" The leader of the soldiers yelled. The soldiers stopped attacking and stood at attention. The leader encased Sokka's and Zuko's feet in earth, then their hands when they fell from being imbalanced. He approached the two warriors with a gleam of hate in his eyes.

"I see you two are fighters. That will change in time." He yelled to his soldiers, "Bind them tightly. We have a long way to Ba Sing Se."

Zuko and Sokka were shackled head to toe, and thrown into a barred cart pulled by ostrich-horse.

"Hey," said Sokka as optimistic as he could, "at least we are getting a free ride to Ba Sing Se." Zuko simply groaned.


	7. Intentional Bonding

Chapter Seven

It was incredibly hot for a spring day. Zuko and Sokka had no shelter from the sweltering sun, and they had not yet received any water to drink. All they could do was stare at each other to pass the time. Zuko looked more glum than usual.

"Cheer up, Zuko. They're not going to hurt us; only our hands are bound, they are feeding us, and we're going to Ba Sing Se."

"Sokka, as soon as we reach the city, they will execute me."

"Oh." Sokka looked at Zuko, but came to a sudden realization. "Aang can vouch for you, they have to believe him!"

"The avatar won't speak for me."

"Not with that attitude."

"All I've ever done for him is capture him. We're not exactly on friendly terms." A soldier rode close to the prisoners and gave them mystery meat jerky and bruised apples. Zuko quickly ate his food, but Sokka hesitated with every bite, which was very unusual.

"What's your problem, Sokka?"

"This food isn't that great."

"Of course it's not, it's prison food. You can't be picky, eat." Sokka watched as Zuko continued to eat like a starving man.

"You act like you've been deprived of food."

"I have been." Zuko's face did look gaunt and thinner than usual. It also explained why he wasn't that heavy when Sokka picked him up. Sokka decided to change the subject.

"They don't have proof of who you are. You didn't firebend at them." Zuko pointed to his face and continued eating.

"Where did you get that scar from anyway?" Zuko nearly choked on his food and coughed. He recovered, and reached his hand toward his face, but then held his shoulder.

"You were there." Sokka was beyond confused. "Azula shot me with fire."

"That's not…"

Zuko cut Sokka off, "I know." Sokka wisely decided to drop the subject, for now.

They rode for hours through the young green forest. The hottest part of the day had finally passed, but the boredom continued to linger. The guards occasionally gave a dirty glance to the prisoners, but said nothing to them. Even the trees were boring to look at; they were thinning out and small. The only change in scenery was a small mountain range in the distance.

"Sir," a guard spoke to a higher up, so Sokka eavesdropped. "should they be in the same wagon? We don't want the prince doing any funny business and harming one of our own."

"Don't worry," responded the earthbender, "this boy is a traitor to our kingdom for helping the Fire Nation."

Sokka had enough. He was hungry, tired, and mad, but mostly hungry. "I'm not part of your kingdom. I am from the Water Tribe!" The guard turned to face Sokka.

"What's a Water Tribe boy doing so far from home?"

"My village was attacked by the Fire Nation. They came looking for the Avatar, Prince Zuko himself was the one who confronted us." Zuko looked at Sokka with his best 'what are you doing?' look. Sokka pointed to Zuko and spoke with certainty, "This man is not the same one who attacked my village and forced me to leave." The guards only chuckled.

"Believe what you want. You will face justice as well." The guards turned and conversed with themselves, once again ignored the prisoners.

"Zuko, I'm bored."

"I can't imagine why."

"If you're going to be a downer, this is going to be a long ride."

"It is going to be a long ride, regardless."

"I used to be a pessimist like you," Zuko glanced uninterestedly at Sokka. "Then I tried to be an optimist." Zuko raised his only eyebrow. "It was terrible." They sat in silence once again, doing nothing but staring blankly at each other. The trees kept passing quickly.

"So, how's your life been?" Zuko asked awkwardly to break the silence.

"Fine, I guess. I haven't seen my dad in a few years."

"Me neither. At least you were with your mother before, you know, I chased you out of the South Pole." Sokka's head drooped slightly.

"My mom has been dead for years."

"What happened?" Zuko was genuinely interested.

"The Fire Nation." The words echoed through Zuko's ears. Should he tell Sokka about his own mother? He didn't see why not.

"The Fire Nation has wronged us both. They made us lose our mothers." Sokka was shocked and looked at Zuko, whose eyes were shut. Now they had something in common. The next few minutes were extremely long.

"I'm going to be honest with you Zuko." Zuko looked at Sokka. "I'm not even sure if I can remember my mom. My sister has been the one who always looked after me. Katara was always her favorite anyway."

"What? Don't say that. Parents love their children equally." Zuko knew that was a lie as soon as he said it.

"Katara is just so special. She can splash around in puddles and catch fish with magic water, because she's just so special. All I can do is throw my boomerang around, that's not talent."

"Sure it is. I've seen you fight."

"The first time we met, you kicked me into a snow bank."

"Forget about that. You are talented. You helped the Avatar escape me, you fought me, and fought me some more. And, you got us fish. That's impressive."

"Not impressive enough. This one time, we got attacked by pirates-"

"I know."

"Right, anyway, they didn't capture me until I said something to them."

"Why did you do that?"

"I don't know. I don't have any wanted posters of me, but Katara and Aang do, and I'm sure Toph will too."

"Who?"

"You know, the earthbender." Sokka saw the confused look on Zuko's face. "Never mind, you didn't have the opportunity to meet her yet."

"Your sister is probably worried about you."

"When I was captured by Azula, they just left me there. They flew away and didn't come back."

"They had no choice. It's not very smart to chase the thing that was chasing them."

"Then why aren't they looking for me now?"

"They have no idea where you are. Relax, we'll find them and they will be happy to see you. In the meantime, we are going to need your talents to get us out of here, and convincing the guards I'm not the prince isn't an option." Sokka smiled and nodded his head to Zuko.

They rode on through the night. The night creatures were loud and obnoxious, the bright full moon was the only thing Sokka could appreciate.

"It has to be tonight." Sokka said as he looked at the moon. "We need to wait for the right moment." The guards fell asleep in the late hours of the night, when the moon was at its highest. Zuko held the lock in his hand and began to heat it. Eventually, the lock fell off, and the two climbed out of the cage. Zuko burned of his feeble chains, but stopped when Sokka held up his hands.

"What are you doing? Get these off of me." Whispered Sokka.

"I don't want to accidentally burn you. I'll find the keys." The moon lit up the ground and revealed many animal tracks. There had been a large saber-toothed moose lion fighting another large animal. The other set of tracks were quickly identified by Zuko and Sokka. Appa had been here. Zuko looked down the path were the track led, but turned around to help Sokka.

They found they keys hanging on a wagon and quietly unbound Sokka.

"Now what?" Asked Zuko.

"We need to get as far from here as possible. Somewhere they won't expect us to go."

"Which is where? We told them we were going to Ba Sing Se, and that's where we are going."

"We'll have to make a detour." Sokka thought quickly. "We'll go through the Si Wong Desert."

"That's the largest and deadliest desert in the world. You are insane." Zuko raised his voice slightly.

"Shh. They won't look for us there. We need to hurry." Zuko nodded, but still didn't think it was a good idea.

They found their ostrich-horse and rode swiftly toward the desert under the silver moonlight. Sokka looked up at the moon and gratefully smiled. He spoke under his breath.

"Thank you."


	8. Thirst Quenching

Chapter Eight

"Admit it; you have no idea where you are going!" Zuko spoke loudly. The sun was rising into the pink sky. There were no more trees, and the ground was becoming sandy. Even the scraggly bushes were becoming sparse.

"There is an oasis around here somewhere. I remember seeing it on a map. We have to be getting close."

"This is the largest desert in the world, how could you possibly know where this oasis is?"

"Instincts." Zuko sighed and kept his eyes open for any sign of civilization. They traveled for hours without seeing a single living thing. The ostrich-horse was walking with a stagger in his step. The boys decided to stop and rest in the shade of a sand dune.

"Zuko, do you have any more water?" Zuko shook his head in despair. Sokka stood up and scanned his surroundings. He spotted a cactus and grabbed Zuko's water pouch.

"I'm going to get some water from that cactus, I'll be right back." Zuko nodded his head and could almost feel the water going down his throat.

Sokka approached the cactus and sliced its top off. He submerged the water pouch in the liquid and waited for it to fill completely. Being rather proud of himself, Sokka pompously walked back to Zuko.

"Here, you can have the first sip." Zuko grabbed the pouch and took a gulp of the sweet cactus juice. Sokka grabbed the pouch, and did the same. Their eyes became dilated as the cactus juice took over their minds.

"That was very thirst quenching." Zuko smiled and giggled like a little school girl when Sokka spoke. "Drink cactus juice. It's the quenchiest, it'll quench ya!"

Zuko stood up and clapped his hands excitedly. He grabbed Sokka's hands and spun around in circles. They did this until they fell to the ground. The ostrich-horse was not amused.

"How did we get here in the middle of the ocean?"

"I can't swim!" Zuko panicked and flailed is arms around like a madman, even though he was an excellent swimmer.

"Don't worry, I'm a waterbender!" Sokka grabbed sand and threw it in the air.

"Yay!" Zuko's cheerful face suddenly changed to horror. "Oh no, I lit you on fire!" The unlit Sokka was tackled to the ground by Zuko, who was at this point burying Sokka in the sand. Sokka gazed into the sky.

"The circle birds will help us." Buzzard-wasps ominously circled the sky above Zuko and Sokka. Zuko sent a large fire blast at one of the animals, which hit the ground with a thud.

"I just air bended it for fifty points. Yay!" Zuko raised his hands in triumph. Somehow the boys managed to walk in the direction of the oasis. There was a large acacia tree standing tall in the middle of the desert.

"It's a giant mushroom. Maybe it's friendly! Friendly mushroom, mushy giant friend!" Zuko joined in on Sokka's praising.

"Let's go ask it to be our friend!" Zuko said dreamily. They skipped to the tree and hugged it. After a few hours of talking to the tree, Sokka and Zuko both began to wonder what the heck they were doing.

Their heads finally cleared from the cactus juice, but they were both famished and parched. Sokka put his hand on the tree and licked the sticky sap off of his fingers, and he immediately spat it out.

"It tastes like rotten penguin meat! I feel woozy." Sokka's head drooped and turned pale green.

"We've been hallucinating on cactus juice for hours, so you try something you found on the side of a tree?!" Zuko was full of rage.

"I have a natural curiosity." They sat in the shade in silence because Zuko was still upset. The ostrich-horse was becoming fidgety and pulled its reigns out of Sokka's hands. The exhausted boys chased after the runaway ostrich-horse over a large sand dune and were both shocked and relieved to find a large sandbender town.

"We're saved!" Sokka knelt on the ground and raised his arms in the air. Zuko rolled his eyes, grabbed Sokka's shirt, and dragged him toward the walled town.


	9. Pain

Chapter Nine

Ecstatic, the boys ran as fast as they could toward the town. They walked through the old gates while being glared at by grungy sandbenders. One of them even spat at Sokka's feet.

Once inside the town, Sokka and Zuko sat down on a bench, wondering what they should do next.

"What are we going to do? We have nothing." Zuko spoke glumly.

"Use our charm and wit?" Suggested Sokka.

"I don't think these people will appreciate our _charm_."

"Don't be silly," Sokka perked up, "I am the charmiest and best looking guy here. You're a close second." Zuko grunted and rolled his eyes. "Watch and learn." Sokka walked over to a person with very long hair and held his hand on the stranger's shoulder. Sokka switched his voice to attractive mode, or so he liked to think.

"Well hello gorg- oh my gosh, it's a guy!" Sokka jumped back as the muscly man turned around and growled. Sokka immediately recognized the man to be Xin Fu from the earth rumble, and also as the man who captured Aang and Toph. He was glad for once his hair was not in a warrior's wolftail, because the man didn't recognize him. Sokka slowly backed away, "My apologies, we're just weary from travel." Sokka gulped and went into the tavern with Zuko.

They sat down at a table near the Pai Sho board. Sokka asked the bartender for two waters, and returned to Zuko. They chugged down the warm water, but didn't complain. The sweet smell of mango smoothies filled the dirty air.

"Uncle loves Pai Sho." Zuko kept watching the man play the game. Sokka was still distracted by the sweet smells of freshly cut fruit. He reached into his pockets, hoping there would be money hiding in them, even though he knew Katara had all the money. His pockets were indeed empty, as was his stomach.

The man playing the game looked up at Zuko. He smiled in a good way like he knew exactly who Zuko was. "Care for a game of Pai Sho?"

"No. I don't know how to play." The man looked disappointed, and went back to playing the board game by himself. Zuko turned and talked to Sokka.

"Uncle tried to teach me when I was banished, to pass the time. He always went on about how Pai Sho is important. It was kind of annoying, but I'd give anything to hear him say that now."

"You really miss him."

"Yeah." A flash of anger went through Zuko's eyes. "It's my entire fault. I should have never left him. As soon as I find him, I will never abandon him again." Sokka put his hand on Zuko's shoulder.

"We'll find him as soon as we get out of this desert." Zuko calmed down and went back to watching the man play Pai Sho. The old man once again looked at Zuko.

"The Dragon of the West speaks highly of you."

"What? My uncle was here?"

"Yes," the man looked at Sokka. "As was the avatar. They came together, in fact."

"How long ago? Where are they?" Zuko questioned.

"About a week ago. They went through the desert to find a library."

"Why would they go to a library?" Sokka asked.

"Various reasons."

"Are they still there?" Zuko was obviously becoming annoyed by the man.

"Probably not."

"Where is he?!" Zuko yelled and slammed his hands on the Pai Sho table.

"Mind your temper, your hands are steaming. Firebenders are not welcome in this town; you wouldn't want any bounty hunters finding you." Zuko put his head in his hands.

"Where is he?" Zuko asked quietly and calmly.

"The Grand Master should be in Ba Sing Se by now. Come, follow me." The man stood up and motioned for Zuko and Sokka to follow. They went from the dark tavern to the sweltering bright outdoors.

"Your uncle told me if you came this way, I should aid you on your way to the great city."

"How did Uncle know I would come this way?" Zuko wondered.

"He probably thought you would chase Aang." Sokka reasoned.

"My uncle is a smart man." The Pai Sho man gave the boys a cart pulled by two large ostrich-horses.

"Your bird will have to stay here; he's too weak to make it all the way across the desert. You have plenty of food and water to last your journey across the desert, but you'll have to restock as soon as you reach the first trading town outside the desert. Follow the trading path, and don't veer off it. And here," the man gave Zuko a small pouch. "Your uncle told me to give this to you." The man bowed and went back into the tavern. Zuko and Sokka sat in the cart and followed packed down sand path.

Once they travelled out of view of the sandbender town, Zuko opened the bag his uncle gave him. Inside were a few Earth Kingdom copper pieces. Deeper down was a Lotus tile, and a note.

"What does it say?" asked Sokka. Zuko looked at the note and recognized the beautiful characters as his uncle's.

"I've always told you Pai Sho was more than just a game. The Order of the White Lotus has agreed to help you in the event you stumbled their way. My dear nephew, be safe. I look forward to seeing you in Ba Sing Se. Be safe." Toward the end of the parchment, there were dried water spots. "Was Uncle…crying?" Sokka looked at the paper.

"It sure looks that way."

"Why?"

"He probably thinks Azula still has you. He might have wrote this knowing you would never read it." Zuko nodded, rolled up the note and put it away, and held the lotus tile in his hands.

"Sorry Sokka."

"For what?"

"Your sister didn't leave you anything."

"Oh." Sokka looked down, and then at Zuko. "Like you said, they have no idea where I am. I highly doubt they'd think I would join up with you."

"Good point." They travelled along the path until the sky turned red as the sun set for the day. The heat was being replaced by a cool breeze.

"It's getting late." Zuko pointed out. "We should stop for the night."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sokka questioned.

Zuko scoffed, "And I'm the paranoid one?"

"Yeah, you still are." Zuko glared at Sokka. "But anyone could've followed us. We should keep going."

"We should rest."

"We can rest when we get out of this desert."

"We don't want to lose the path if we travel in the dark." Zuko had a good point, put Sokka remained stubborn.

"The moon is bright."

"I don't care if the stupid moon is bright, we should stop."

"The moon is not stupid!" Sokka yelled.

"Sure it is, and so are you. Stupid Water Tribe peasant."

"Forgive me your highness." Sokka spoke sarcastically, "Tell me, how is it living in the lap of luxury?" Sokka was quite smug with himself. Zuko's face twitched, but he came up with no clever response.

"What's the matter, scarface? Care to counter that?" Sokka teased. Zuko gave Sokka a look like he wanted to kill him; it took all of his restraint to not harm Sokka.

"Drop it." Zuko said monotonously. Sokka unwisely ignored Zuko's warning.

"I bet you miss your daddy. When you go home, you can burn down towns together, and…" Sokka never finished his statement because Zuko pulled the reigns tightly, which almost threw Sokka off when the cart stopped.

Zuko stared at Sokka and yelled, "Get off!"

"No, you jerk." Zuko picked up Sokka like it was nothing and threw him harshly into the back of the cart. Sokka almost said something, but Zuko spoke angrily, "If you're smart, you'll act like you're not here." Sokka remained quiet and rubbed his sore side. He looked through the bags and excitedly grabbed a handful of seasoned jerky. He stuffed his face and fell asleep.

Zuko was extremely angry at Sokka. He was the one who wanted to keep going, and now he was sleeping. Zuko decided to keep moving and stopped when he saw the outline of trees in the distance. He fed and watered the ostrich-horses, and quickly fell asleep.

While the moon was still out, Sokka woke up. He rubbed his eyes and saw Zuko was sleeping in a sitting position. He regretted saying those things to Zuko, but he had been tired, hungry, and hot. Sokka gently put Zuko in the back of the wagon, and drove the cart to the forest.

By the time Zuko woke up at sunrise, the boys were deep in the forest. Zuko was disoriented an looked at Sokka, then quickly looked away. Sokka turned and saw Zuko was awake, so he spoke quietly. "Zuko, what I said yesterday was uncalled for. I was hungry and…"

Zuko interrupted harshly, "It's okay." The tone in his voice made it clear that it was not okay. The boys travelled in silence until they reached a pavilion.

"There's a town nearby. I'll get supplies and you set up camp." Sokka spoke confidently.

"Why do I have to stay here?" Zuko's eyes flashed with anger.

"Because you have quite a few gold pieces on your head. We don't need to get captured again." Zuko nodded and watched Sokka travel down the path. He placed blankets on the ground and grouped rocks he found in a circle. Zuko quickly started a fire and watched the wood burn.

Zuko sat down and concentrated on the fire. As he breathed in and out, he could feel his breath getting warmer. Tiny flames emitted from his mouth as he breathed deeply.

"Zuko!" Zuko jumped defensively when he heard his name, but it was only Sokka coming up the path. "What are you doing? Anyone could have seen you." Zuko sat back down and said nothing. Clearly, he was still angry at Sokka.

"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said those things." Sokka sat next to the fire. "It's not like you're the only one who has been wronged. You destroyed my village and attacked me."

"You attacked me with your boomerang." Zuko countered after a few minutes of silence.

"You threatened my people and captured Aang."

"He attacked me with my own bed." Sokka laughed, and Zuko actually chuckled a little bit. "The Avatar has hurt me more than I have hurt any of you." Sokka raised an eyebrow. "I've been slammed onto sides of buildings, the ground. I've been frozen and attacked with ice and water by your sister. You hit me a few times, too. I'm surprised I've never broken any bones."

"Me too. I guess we're good at getting hurt." Sokka and Zuko both smiled briefly, but went back to looking at the fire. Zuko made the fire twirl and move intricately.

Zuko spoke softly, "Yeah, but none of that matters now."

"You're right." Sokka paused and looked at Zuko quizzically. "What are you going to when I find my sister?" Zuko knew what Sokka had really meant. What was he going to do when he saw the Avatar? Zuko drooped his head and closed his eyes.

"As annoying as you are, Sokka, I won't betray you." This didn't exactly answer Sokka's question, but he decided to stop asking questions. They sat close to the fire and ate the delicious jerky. The sun was starting to set, and they had managed to gain zero ground. It was nice rest for once, and the boys spent the rest of the night telling stories to each other before they fell asleep.


	10. Sorry!

I am so sorry, everybody! I had my next chapter notes in my notebook, ready to type, when a little something called anime slapped me in the face. More specifically, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, tackled me to the ground. After watching that, I went to Soul Eater, then the original FMA series.

Looking back on this story, I am not very proud of it. The chapters are short and rushed, which is something that irritates me. I have a nearly complete FMA ATLA crossover that took over my mind. Furthermore, I have two other crossovers planned; one that is published now, and one that's still in the thought process. I don't think I'll have time for this one anymore, and frankly, I don't feel the drive to continue it.

I will probably delete this story soon, and I apologize. If you feel the need for it to be continued, by all means, I give you permission to adopt this mediocre story of mine, and change it for the better.

Sorry. At least I've learned from my mistakes, and I have improved since starting my crossovers. Again, sorry. It will be terminated soon.

Edited update 9/21/13: I will not delete this story, due to backlash. Someday, I may start it up again and fix it. Until then, I have three other stories with a large amount of importance.


End file.
